1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to an improved apparatus for crushing tablets into powders. More particularly, the apparatus is a pill crusher which enables dosed medicaments to be converted into powders which are more easily ingested by some patients.
2. The Relevant Technology
It has long been recognized that one of the preferred ways of administering medication is orally in tablet form. Medication in tablet form is the least expensive form in which to manufacture and package medication and is a preferred non-invasive delivery method. Further, compressed tablet form medication is the best form to avoid tampering.
There are several recognized problems associated with administering medication in tablet form. A principal known problem is that many children, geriatric patients, and mental patients have difficulty swallowing tablets. Additionally, a large number of people are subject to gag reflex response which will not permit them to swallow a tablet in solid form. A large number of bedridden patients or patients disposed in a reclined position are also not capable of swallowing tablets in solid form or in granular form. Persons or patients having to use nasalgastrological feeding tubes or other types of feeding tubes require that their medication be presented in a solution or liquid form. Medication has heretofore been taken in liquid form through a straw or in a powdered form when mixed with food. The above problems that exist with human patients also exist in the field of veterinary medicine.
An historical solution to the above mentioned problems of administering oral mediation in tablet form has been has been to grind the tablet through the use of a mortar and pestle. The use of a mortar and pestle, however, presents several problems. Use of a mortar and pestle is inefficient as each use requires cleaning and the crushing is relatively time intensive. Inadvertent spilling and crushed residue adhering to either the mortar or the pestle reduces the ultimate dosage transferred to the patient. Additionally, the manual grinding can cause the crushed tablets to produce inconsistent particle sizes as one individual may apply more pressure than another. It is also difficult to completely crush or fragment the tablets due to the considerable force required. Such a requirement of force often poses great difficulty for medical staff members, particularly when treating many patients.
To overcome the problems associated with the use of a mortar and pestle, various manual and motor driven devices were developed to grind, abrade, comminute compress fracture and/or crush tablets. Examples of mechanical crushers include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,178.337, U.S. Pat. No. 5,148,995, U.S. Pat. No. 5,025,996, U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,356, U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,775, U.S. Pat. No. 3,915,393 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,334,806.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,915,393 provides for sandwiching a tablet between two paper pleated cup thereby avoiding cross-contamination and eliminating any need for cleaning the apparatus. However, the simple configuration of the apparatus results in uneven pressure being applied to the tablet. In the primary embodiment, the crusher head is located relatively close to the hinge of the apparatus in order to provide sufficient pressure to crush a tablet as a user pushes the lever. As a result, the crushed tablet is formed into a hardened wedge which is often harder than the pill was originally. This is particularly problematic when large quantities of pills need to be crushed for one patient as is frequently necessitated in nursing homes. The amount of time required to crush large numbers of pills poses a substantial problem for the staff responsible for crushing and dispensing medicaments to patients. Fully one half of the time spent on medication rounds is consumed crushing medication. Accordingly, during a "pill pass" with a duration of two hours, one hour is consumed preparing medications. Additionally, conventional crushers require significant effort from the operator.
Such a crushing apparatus also requires that the operator have significant strength, which some medical staff members do not possess. Some medical staff members compensate for their lack of strength by pounding the medication instead of squeezing it. This pounding, which is the most common misuse of crushing apparatuses, can result in the apparatus being damaged, patients being disturbed and damage to the surface on which the crushing apparatus is being used. It may also result in injuries to the user over extended periods of time.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,915,393, the paper cups can be rotated to recrush the wedge as discussed at column 4, lines 26-43, however, the configuration of the surfaces pressing against the tablets repeatedly yields a wedge which flares in height in the direction away from the hinge. Accordingly, the tablet is not fragmented and is merely flattened to some extent. Further, rotating the tablets sandwiched between the cups while moving the crusher head up and down may result in the tablets being dislodged.
The tendency to form hardened wedges is diminished by moving the crusher head to a more central location as discussed at column 4, lines 48-62, however, the ability to apply pressure to the tablets is also thereby diminished. U.S. Pat. No. 3,915,393 also suggests at column 4, line 63 to column 5, line 2 that the crusher head be moved in a side-to-side motion. Such a side-to-side movement is generally undesirable as it may also result in dislodging the medication. It also frequently results in the tearing of the paper cups.
An example of a motor driven crusher is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,666. Motor driven crushers are relatively expensive and noisy. The noise can be a particular problem in some circumstances, such as in nursing homes or mental institutes. As discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,601 at column 2, lines 30-58, noise from loud crushing devices can disrupt a patient's sleep and tends to alarm patients with some form of dementia as well as some elderly patients. For nursing home residents with Alzheimer's Disease and such dementias, it is of utmost importance to keep a quiet atmosphere so that the patients are not agitated. Another problem associated with such motor driven crushers is that it is more difficult to apply an appropriate amount of pressure. When pressure is manually applied, the user can sense the amount of pressure need to fully crush the tablet.
It would be a significant improvement in the art to provide an apparatus for crushing pills or tablets which can fully fragment a pill as well as large quantities of tablets such as a paticnt's combined daily medication.
It would also be a significant improvement to provide an apparatus for crushing tablets which can efficiently crush tablets in significantly less time than is required by prior art crushing apparatus.
Additionally, it would be a significant improvement to provide an apparatus for crushing tablets which can crush tablets in a secure manner and which requires significantly less effort than prior art apparatuses such that there is no risk to the user through misuse of the apparatus and there is no risk of damage to the surface under the apparatus or the surrounding equipment.
Further, it would also be an improvement in the art to provide an apparatus for crushing tablets which prevents cross-contamination and is easily cleaned in the event of contamination.
Finally, it would be a significant improvement in the art to provide an apparatus for crushing tablets which is quiet, portable, and highly durable.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved pill crusher that overcomes or avoid the above problems.